


the letters (she never sent)

by royallyeffed



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Asami and her letters, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, not even joking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25367854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royallyeffed/pseuds/royallyeffed
Summary: All the letters Asami Sato wrote to Korra (but never sent).
Relationships: Korra & Asami Sato, Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 3
Kudos: 83





	the letters (she never sent)

It isn’t as if she didn’t have things to say to Korra. On the contrary, Asami finds herself wanting to tell her best friend about every tedious part of her busy days. But she also finds herself convinced that sending letters that drone on and on about her business might inconvenience the Avatar in the process of recovery.

But she heard Mako mention that he writes to Korra about the weather, so surely Asami can’t do any worse than that.

Until she sits at her desk in her office, and her mind starts racing. Future Industries is quiet as everyone turns in for the night, but Asami’s thoughts are loud enough to echo through her head.

  
  


_ Dear Korra, _

_ I hope you receive this letter in good time and in good health. It’s business as usual in Republic City, or as usual as it ever seems to be here. Future Industries is leading the reconstruction process on the roads in the city and I have a few project proposals that might redefine transportation. But that part of business is a bit more long winded than the rest. _

_ How are you? I think about you all the time. I find myself missing the moments you’d force me to take a lunch break and the times you’d convince me to rant about my frustration. I miss listening to you vent. I miss your stories. I hope when you come back to Republic City, you’ll have plenty of stories to share with me. I hope for many things, but more than anything, I hope you’re able to find happiness during your recovery.  _

_ Take your time, Republic City will be here and ready for you when you come back. No need to rush anything. Take care of yourself first, and we can figure out the rest as we go. _

_ Love, _

_ Asami _

It isn’t hard to send this letter, as she folds it up, places it in its envelope, and drops it in the outgoing slot in the lobby on her way out. She doesn’t overthink it nor does she erase too much as she writes the letter. But this would be the last time her letters are sent with ease.

At her desk again, Asami stares dumbfounded at a paper that’s marred with eraser markings. Her trash is already filled with torn pieces of previous attempts at writing a letter. And despite having so much to say, it seems that little will make it to the final copy.

_ It’s only a letter _ , she tells herself,  _ nothing extravagant _ .  _ You’ve written to Korra plenty of times before, surely one more letter isn’t an obstacle. _

Asami pushes against her desk to roll her chair back slightly. She stands and turns toward the grand windows that overlook the city. A deep breath in, followed by a measured exhale is meant to clear her head — it does anything but.

Every word she’s written seems wrong in some way. To say that she misses Korra is an understatement anymore and no word she comes up with can properly define her feelings.

And maybe that’s what’s standing in the way: her feelings.

Sure, she’s thought of how she feels about Korra before; critically analyzed how she feels, to say the least. But she wouldn’t consider her resolve earth-shattering. It was a slow realization that, in the end, she forced herself to shrug off. Truthfully, what good would it have done to tell the battered Avatar, her broken-spirited best friend, that she’s in love with her? Korra needed to focus on recovery, and so that’s where Asami’s attention needed to be as well.

But in the here and now, Asami knows that she’d rather confess how she feels in a more intimate setting than a letter. Especially when she hasn’t received a response, any writing she jots down might only ever be seen by the writer herself. Though, Asami writes and believes that Korra reads them. Yet, a one-sided conversation is not terribly inspirational.

She sets the letter and pencil to the side for the night as she stands to leave for the night. One more day or mulling over how to phrase her thoughts can’t hurt, so she’ll try again tomorrow night.

** ** ** **

It’s more than just feelings and a lack of responses, Asami determines; it’s so much more complicated.

  
  


_ Dear Korra, _

_ I think I’m in love with you. _

  
  


She writes it down to get it out of her head. The paper finds itself torn and in the bin with all the other attempts at a decent letter.

Asami leaves her office that night with nothing to drop in the mail slot.

** ** ** **

_ Dear Korra, _

_ I know I’m in love with you. _

  
  


Asami tosses this one into the fireplace and downs the rest of the whiskey in her glass.

** ** ** **

It’s a letter, that’s for sure.

To Asami.

From Korra.

That last fact she checks repeatedly throughout reading the letter.

It’s a response. After all this time, Asami gets a glimpse into Korra’s state of mind. Not much that she writes is surprising, but it’s certainly breathtaking in its own right.

She swears she feels Korra’s energy coursing through the edges and curves of the penmanship. Asami hugs the letter to her chest, not daring to wish for anything more, as she enjoys the moment that’s been gifted to her.

** ** ** **

Asami comes to realize that having writer’s block is a state of mind that can be as easy to escape as it is to fall trap too. Over the course of three years, she learns to say ‘I miss you’ in thousands of different ways, phrases, and styles.

She quickly learns that being supportive isn’t getting it right all the time, but understanding that the most important gift is the presence of support.

She stops fretting over how to sign off on the letters and allows herself to love Korra, unconditionally; to let Korra choose how she wants the word ‘love’ to be defined between them.

Asami learns that patience is love and unconditional is sometimes yelling into the abyss. She welcomes both, with open arms so that when the people’s Avatar finally returns, Korra will understand that Asami will always welcome her with open arms.

** ** ** **

Korra always knew she wasn’t the literary type. She wouldn’t say she disliked reading and writing, but it wasn’t ever her first priority. But her current predicament leaves her without any priorities at all. She discovers that she likes reading the old legends of previous Avatars and any story with action-packed scenes can make her swoon.

And Asami’s letters — Korra thinks those make her swoon too.

She gets lost in the way Asami curves her letters, with the slight slant and fluid style. It’s precise and smooth in its motion, like Asami and all the things she creates. Her letters are an invention of their own right.

Her mind wanders when Asami talks about her week with such detail that Korra’s certain she lived the routine herself.

But Korra’s eyes retrace a specific phrase more than anything else Asami writes. It’s the ‘love’ part that gets to her. She’s certain of how she loves Asami, but she’s uncertain of how it might be reciprocated. Is it a friend-love or is it a more-love? Her letters are signed off with that four letter word and Korra is sure her heart feels every single one.

_ It’s been too long _ , Korra’s soul seems to scream at her as she grabs her pen and situates her paper.  _ I should’ve done this a long time ago _ .

It isn’t necessarily hard to write to Asami, but as she folds the paper and seals the envelope, it feels somewhat final. Her heart and soul ache for the piece that’s missing, but it seems her head floats in an abyss and unable to decide its direction.

Maybe that should be a type of finality too. Her mind may hold the key to recovery and despite the obstacles, she knows the journey could be worth it.

Whether out of desperation for recovery or a need to see Asami again, Korra settles into the idea of change and becomes increasingly determined to memorize the way ‘love’ looks on paper, to deliver that very word in all its mirth to the girl that deserves it the most.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there it is! I've shipped Korrasami for years and finally got around to actually posting something. I'm super excited to share more, so drop a comment or leave kudos if you'd like. Thanks for reading and see you next time!
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](https://royallyeffed.tumblr.com/)


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